BIO5380 Advanced Ecology: Biogeography Fall 2017

Instructor: Dr. Monte L. Thies Office: LBD115D e-mail: [email protected] Phone: (936)294-3746 Office Hours: Anytime, by appointment

Required Text: Lomolino, M. V., B. R. Riddle, and R. J. Whittaker. 2016. Biogeography, 5th ed. Sinauer.

Additional readings will be provided as needed.

COURSE EXPECTATIONS Reading assignments from class text (Lomolino et al., 5th ed.) and regular attendance in all scheduled lectures is required. Part of your grade will be determined by your regular participation in class, so active classroom interaction is a must for those who want to do well in this course. Grading will be based on two midterm exams, a comprehensive final, and a student project consisting of a prospectus, term paper, and class presentation.

*Note: it is your responsibility to be aware of all add-drop deadlines: be aware of the posted deadlines if you need at some point to drop the course.

Grades will be based on: Exam1 – 20% Exam2 – 20% Comprehensive Final – 25% Student project – 35% Prospectus – 5% Term Paper – 15% Presentation – 15%

Prospectus due: 25 October (or earlier) Final Term Paper Due: 10:00 a.m. 27 November (NO LATE PAPERS) Presentation: Last 2-3 class periods of semester, schedule to be determined by topic Final Examination: 10:30-12:00 Monday, 4 December

Lecture Schedule Introduction and Orientation to the class. The Science and History of Biogeography The Physical Environment The basics of Species Distributions Geography of Communities Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift Speciation and Extinction Glaciation and Biogeographic - Dynamics of the Pleistocene The theory of Island Biogeography Diversity Gradients Measuring Dispersal The Geography of Diversification Historical Biogeography of Lineages Phylogeography Historical & Vicariance Biogeography Historical biogeography: testing biogeographical hypotheses Island Biogeography and Conservation The Future of Biogeography: Pattern and Process in Biogeography

Student Projects: Prospectus: due 25 October (or earlier) The prospectus must include a 1-2 page outline or text summary and at least 10 primary references for your topic.

Final Term Paper: due 10:00 a.m. 27 November (NO LATE PAPERS) Term papers may be on any topic in Biogeography that is approved by the instructor. They must be at least 10-15 pages in length in double-spaced, 12-point type (excluding any figures and tables). Papers should review some topic of interest from a conceptual point of view (e.g., there should be some significant biogeographical issue or question involved, not just a summary of facts).

Powerpoint presentations on selected term paper topics will be given during the past 2-3 class periods. Topics covered and assignments of presentation dates will be made during class after all prospectuses have been evaluated. Presentations should be 12-15 minutes in length with an additional 5 minutes for questions. Grades will be determined by combining scores from peer evaluations, thoroughness of topic coverage, and ability to answer questions.